Mr Fitzgibbon asked the Minister for Agriculture, in writing, on 27 August 2014:

In respect of the $420 million Farm Finance Concessional Loans Scheme, (a) how many applications have been received, and of these, how many have been (i) successful, and (ii) unsuccessful, (b) what (i) total sum of payments have been made, and (ii) average amount has been paid, and (c) what has been the average processing time.

Mr Joyce: The Minister for Agriculture has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

For the Farm Finance Concessional Loans Scheme, as at 30 September 2014:

(a) Nationally, 823 applications had been received.

(i) 322 applications were approved.

(ii) 430 applications were declined.

(b) (i) $152.6 million has been approved.

(ii) Of the loans approved, average loan amount is approximately $493 000.

(c) Jurisdictions have a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to assess and make a decision on 85 per cent of applications within 30 Business Days, provided they are in a complete state including all necessary information. At the last six monthly review in June 2014, all jurisdictions had met this KPI.